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Celebrating the Beauty and Power of Art

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Voting for this year's winners is up to our Canadian Pain Society members!  Voting is open from April 1st to May 1st.

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Our theme for our 2026 Art Award is “How We Feel Pain” 

Journey through the intertwined narratives of individuals with lived experiences of persistent pain, researchers, clinicians, trainees, policymakers, and caregivers. Their hopes, needs, and dedicated efforts come alive in every piece. Through art, we don't merely promote understanding; we inspire action.  

Note: Art allows each of us the opportunity to explore difficult topics in different ways. For this reason, some of the artworks on our online exhibition – or in the descriptions provided with them – touch on themes of end-of-life, mental health, nudity and human reproduction, and suffering that might be disturbing to some visitors.

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Category Winner [2021]

Lady in Pain

"This artwork captures the visceral experience of pain and delirium in the intensive care unit (ICU). A woman lies in her hospital bed, her skin flushed red, symbolizing agony the body’s distress under illness and medical intervention. Her hair transforms into a dense and tangled jungle — her mind is both sanctuary and a nightmare. Through this piece, I explore the delicate balance between alleviating suffering and the cognitive consequences of sedation. The question “What do I do for pain?” is not only personal but deeply ethical. Physicians are tasked with understanding the evolving landscape of pain management. Recent evidence favors multimodal pain relief strategies over excessive sedation to reduce ICU delirium and cognitive impairment. The historical reliance on benzodiazepines is waning, while non-pharmacologic interventions such as early mobility gain favour. This piece invites the viewer to step into this complex intersection of medicine, ethics, and human vulnerability—where every decision carries consequences, and relief is often inseparable from consequences.

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Lizbeth Ayoub

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She is one of us; a woman exposed to the invasive nature of pain. More women than men suffer from chronic pain. Chronic pain perseveres, overwhelms the body, mind and blurring one’s identity with oneself and society. Its dark web leaves one vulnerable, exposed, and subjected to its intensity. Yet, this lady stands tall, graceful in the face of adversity. Her golden head is a symbol of knowledge and future brain research for new treatments.

NoorAl Kaabi.jpg
Category Winner [2021]

Like a Buzzing Mosquito, Chronic Pain is Impossible to Ignore.

"This artwork captures the visceral experience of pain and delirium in the intensive care unit (ICU). A woman lies in her hospital bed, her skin flushed red, symbolizing agony the body’s distress under illness and medical intervention. Her hair transforms into a dense and tangled jungle — her mind is both sanctuary and a nightmare. Through this piece, I explore the delicate balance between alleviating suffering and the cognitive consequences of sedation. The question “What do I do for pain?” is not only personal but deeply ethical. Physicians are tasked with understanding the evolving landscape of pain management. Recent evidence favors multimodal pain relief strategies over excessive sedation to reduce ICU delirium and cognitive impairment. The historical reliance on benzodiazepines is waning, while non-pharmacologic interventions such as early mobility gain favour. This piece invites the viewer to step into this complex intersection of medicine, ethics, and human vulnerability—where every decision carries consequences, and relief is often inseparable from consequences.

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Sandra Woods

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This abstract mosquito represents the ever-present burden of chronic pain. If you’ve ever tried to fall asleep with a mosquito in your room, you know how distracting and even distressing it can seem!Chronic pain is much worse, buzzing its way into your mind and intruding in your thoughts. Pain makes it hard to concentrate at school, at work, or even on fun activities. Chronic pain can also be menacing, because we expect our bodies to use pain to tell us that something is wrong.

Appendicitis, kidney stones, labour pains – these kinds of pain signals are the body’s internal alarms, telling us to get medical help!
In chronic pain though, the body’s pain alarm stays on – all the time – even after any injury has healed, or sometimes for no obvious reason.

Not only is that mosquito buzzing around you all the time, imagine feeling that it is constantly biting you… when it isn’t.
Chronic pain is much worse than a mosquito bite, of course, but I’m sure you get the idea!

Even though we’d like to swat pain away, like a mosquito, much more research is needed to make that possible.
In the meantime, many people live with constant and long-term pain.

Like a menacing mosquito, hovering constantly over your head for months, years, or even decades

NoorAl Kaabi.jpg
Category Winner [2022]

The Colors of the Pain Experience

"This artwork captures the visceral experience of pain and delirium in the intensive care unit (ICU). A woman lies in her hospital bed, her skin flushed red, symbolizing agony the body’s distress under illness and medical intervention. Her hair transforms into a dense and tangled jungle — her mind is both sanctuary and a nightmare. Through this piece, I explore the delicate balance between alleviating suffering and the cognitive consequences of sedation. The question “What do I do for pain?” is not only personal but deeply ethical. Physicians are tasked with understanding the evolving landscape of pain management. Recent evidence favors multimodal pain relief strategies over excessive sedation to reduce ICU delirium and cognitive impairment. The historical reliance on benzodiazepines is waning, while non-pharmacologic interventions such as early mobility gain favour. This piece invites the viewer to step into this complex intersection of medicine, ethics, and human vulnerability—where every decision carries consequences, and relief is often inseparable from consequences.

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Louise Castillo

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Chronic pain colors many aspects of one’s life. It shades one’s work, relationships, and self-care, leading to suffering and for some, loss of employment, physical mobility, and identity.

Living with pain is emotionally stressful; some may feel trapped by their own thoughts and/or immersed in a cycle of avoidant behaviors with an aim to reduce their pain. Pain can limit a life previously known across the lifespan—an experience that can be devastatingly isolating. Yet, in the midst of that, many live through the daily peaks and pitfalls of the totality of the pain experience–experiencing a host of other emotions colored by strength and resilience in the face of adversity.

NoorAl Kaabi.jpg
Category Winner [2022]

Displacement

"This artwork captures the visceral experience of pain and delirium in the intensive care unit (ICU). A woman lies in her hospital bed, her skin flushed red, symbolizing agony the body’s distress under illness and medical intervention. Her hair transforms into a dense and tangled jungle — her mind is both sanctuary and a nightmare. Through this piece, I explore the delicate balance between alleviating suffering and the cognitive consequences of sedation. The question “What do I do for pain?” is not only personal but deeply ethical. Physicians are tasked with understanding the evolving landscape of pain management. Recent evidence favors multimodal pain relief strategies over excessive sedation to reduce ICU delirium and cognitive impairment. The historical reliance on benzodiazepines is waning, while non-pharmacologic interventions such as early mobility gain favour. This piece invites the viewer to step into this complex intersection of medicine, ethics, and human vulnerability—where every decision carries consequences, and relief is often inseparable from consequences.

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Chloe Fleisher

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I am a 13-year girl who has lived with chronic pain for more than 5 years. I drew this image to express how I sometimes feel when I'm in pain -like I am drowning or submerged. The pain consumes my whole body. I am helpless and there is nothing I can do to stop the suffering or to help myself.

Note: The art work was submitted by the parent of a child with chronic pain and medical complexity. The author of the art submission is her 13 year old daughter Chloe Fleisher

NoorAl Kaabi.jpg
Category Winner [2022]

Turning to Stone

"This artwork captures the visceral experience of pain and delirium in the intensive care unit (ICU). A woman lies in her hospital bed, her skin flushed red, symbolizing agony the body’s distress under illness and medical intervention. Her hair transforms into a dense and tangled jungle — her mind is both sanctuary and a nightmare. Through this piece, I explore the delicate balance between alleviating suffering and the cognitive consequences of sedation. The question “What do I do for pain?” is not only personal but deeply ethical. Physicians are tasked with understanding the evolving landscape of pain management. Recent evidence favors multimodal pain relief strategies over excessive sedation to reduce ICU delirium and cognitive impairment. The historical reliance on benzodiazepines is waning, while non-pharmacologic interventions such as early mobility gain favour. This piece invites the viewer to step into this complex intersection of medicine, ethics, and human vulnerability—where every decision carries consequences, and relief is often inseparable from consequences.

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Terry Wilde

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My late wife Lili Painted this in 2003 after full body Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) set in, triggered by a car accident in 1999. She had full-bodied Pain except in the left side of her face. At this point in her life she had no tolerated pain medications due to severe allergies. Suicide or Medically Assisted Death was a constant battle.

This Image depicts the struggle with pain and loss of ability, while showing the life in the left side of her face, the one place she could escape to. After many years of struggle and Healthcare Harm, she died in 2019 with a strong will to live.

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First [2023]

Kept Hidden

"This artwork captures the visceral experience of pain and delirium in the intensive care unit (ICU). A woman lies in her hospital bed, her skin flushed red, symbolizing agony the body’s distress under illness and medical intervention. Her hair transforms into a dense and tangled jungle — her mind is both sanctuary and a nightmare. Through this piece, I explore the delicate balance between alleviating suffering and the cognitive consequences of sedation. The question “What do I do for pain?” is not only personal but deeply ethical. Physicians are tasked with understanding the evolving landscape of pain management. Recent evidence favors multimodal pain relief strategies over excessive sedation to reduce ICU delirium and cognitive impairment. The historical reliance on benzodiazepines is waning, while non-pharmacologic interventions such as early mobility gain favour. This piece invites the viewer to step into this complex intersection of medicine, ethics, and human vulnerability—where every decision carries consequences, and relief is often inseparable from consequences.

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Tarannum Rahnuma

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My piece aims to capture the lived experiences of those with chronic pain, which affects approximately 1 in 5 Canadians. The daily struggle of managing chronic pain can make even the simplest tasks challenging, particularly in social situations where individuals may feel pressured to conceal their symptoms to avoid being stigmatized or perceived as a burden. My painting captures the emotional and physical toll of masking pain in social settings, particularly during happy occasions such as celebrations.

Through "Kept Hidden", I hope to foster greater empathy and understanding of the experiences of those living with chronic pain. I believe that by raising awareness and encouraging dialogue, we can create a more supportive and inclusive society that recognizes the challenges faced by those with pain.

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First [2024]

Planting Seeds in the Wind

"This artwork captures the visceral experience of pain and delirium in the intensive care unit (ICU). A woman lies in her hospital bed, her skin flushed red, symbolizing agony the body’s distress under illness and medical intervention. Her hair transforms into a dense and tangled jungle — her mind is both sanctuary and a nightmare. Through this piece, I explore the delicate balance between alleviating suffering and the cognitive consequences of sedation. The question “What do I do for pain?” is not only personal but deeply ethical. Physicians are tasked with understanding the evolving landscape of pain management. Recent evidence favors multimodal pain relief strategies over excessive sedation to reduce ICU delirium and cognitive impairment. The historical reliance on benzodiazepines is waning, while non-pharmacologic interventions such as early mobility gain favour. This piece invites the viewer to step into this complex intersection of medicine, ethics, and human vulnerability—where every decision carries consequences, and relief is often inseparable from consequences.

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Ezinne Ekediegwu

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Within this evocative artwork lies a profound narrative that encapsulates the enduring struggle of a patient suffering from endometriosis, whose existence is characterized by persistent pain and weakness. Through her poignant portrayal, the artist conveys the individual's unwavering commitment to raising awareness and fostering understanding of this debilitating disease within her challenging societal context.

The central figure, adorned in traditional Nigerian attire, serves as a poignant representation of the broader societal challenges faced by individuals grappling with endometriosis in Nigeria. The deep crimson hue of her garments symbolizes the profound suffering endured and perpetuated by the disease. With a hand firmly clasped to her abdomen, the locus of her anguish, she endeavours to scatter seeds into the wind. These seeds serve as potent symbols of her tireless efforts to sow awareness and enlightenment regarding her condition. Yet, the wind itself serves as a metaphor for the societal currents that buffet her efforts, for the prevailing ignorance and indifference that shroud endometriosis within her community.

Indeed, statistics reveal a staggering reality: one in ten women are afflicted by endometriosis, yet awareness remains alarmingly scarce. In Nigeria, the dearth of specialized medical practitioners exacerbates the plight, with no more than two Endometriosis specialists navigating the complex terrain of this condition. Globally, the paucity of knowledge and the absence of a definitive cure cast a shadow over the lives of countless individuals.

The tragic narrative continues with accounts of medical practitioners dismissing patients' symptoms as imaginary, prescribing ineffective treatments, and even subjecting sufferers to ridicule and mockery. Consequently, delayed diagnoses and preventable tragedies ensue, perpetuating a cycle of suffering and despair.

Yet, amidst the darkness, a beacon of hope emerges. Through her resolute advocacy and unwavering determination, the protagonist endeavours to illuminate the shadows shrouding endometriosis. Her indomitable spirit serves as a rallying cry, compelling society to confront its collective ignorance and apathy. Thus, through her courageous crusade, she endeavours to sow the seeds of awareness and understanding, nurturing a brighter future for generations to come.

NoorAl Kaabi.jpg
First [2025]

Blooms on Neural Threads

"This artwork captures the visceral experience of pain and delirium in the intensive care unit (ICU). A woman lies in her hospital bed, her skin flushed red, symbolizing agony the body’s distress under illness and medical intervention. Her hair transforms into a dense and tangled jungle — her mind is both sanctuary and a nightmare. Through this piece, I explore the delicate balance between alleviating suffering and the cognitive consequences of sedation. The question “What do I do for pain?” is not only personal but deeply ethical. Physicians are tasked with understanding the evolving landscape of pain management. Recent evidence favors multimodal pain relief strategies over excessive sedation to reduce ICU delirium and cognitive impairment. The historical reliance on benzodiazepines is waning, while non-pharmacologic interventions such as early mobility gain favour. This piece invites the viewer to step into this complex intersection of medicine, ethics, and human vulnerability—where every decision carries consequences, and relief is often inseparable from consequences.

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Monika Kataria

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This artwork represents the shared journey of people living with chronic pain and the caregivers, researchers, and clinicians who support them. The vibrant blooming flowers symbolize resilience and growth, while the small human figures seated within the petals capture deeply human moments of introspection and vulnerability experienced by people living with pain. The delicate neuron threads interwoven throughout highlight the vital role of researchers and medical professionals, whose efforts provide understanding, connection, and hope to those navigating pain. These threads nurture the blooms, reflecting the collective compassion and empathy that drives healing and progress. This piece celebrates the strength and humanity of those impacted by pain and the enduring power of unity.

NoorAl Kaabi.jpg
Second [2025]

Pain, Delirium, and the Jungle Within

"This artwork captures the visceral experience of pain and delirium in the intensive care unit (ICU). A woman lies in her hospital bed, her skin flushed red, symbolizing agony the body’s distress under illness and medical intervention. Her hair transforms into a dense and tangled jungle — her mind is both sanctuary and a nightmare. Through this piece, I explore the delicate balance between alleviating suffering and the cognitive consequences of sedation. The question “What do I do for pain?” is not only personal but deeply ethical. Physicians are tasked with understanding the evolving landscape of pain management. Recent evidence favors multimodal pain relief strategies over excessive sedation to reduce ICU delirium and cognitive impairment. The historical reliance on benzodiazepines is waning, while non-pharmacologic interventions such as early mobility gain favour. This piece invites the viewer to step into this complex intersection of medicine, ethics, and human vulnerability—where every decision carries consequences, and relief is often inseparable from consequences.

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Noor Al Kaabi

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This artwork captures the visceral experience of pain and delirium in the intensive care unit (ICU). A woman lies in her hospital bed, her skin flushed red, symbolizing agony the body’s distress under illness and medical intervention. Her hair transforms into a dense and tangled jungle — her mind is both sanctuary and a nightmare.

Through this piece, I explore the delicate balance between alleviating suffering and the cognitive consequences of sedation. The question “What do I do for pain?” is not only personal but deeply ethical. Physicians are tasked with understanding the evolving landscape of pain management. Recent evidence favors multimodal pain relief strategies over excessive sedation to reduce ICU delirium and cognitive impairment. The historical reliance on benzodiazepines is waning, while non-pharmacologic interventions such as early mobility gain favour.

This piece invites the viewer to step into this complex intersection of medicine, ethics, and human vulnerability—where every decision carries consequences, and relief is often inseparable from consequences.

NoorAl Kaabi.jpg
Third [2025]

Shackles of White Ribbon

"This artwork captures the visceral experience of pain and delirium in the intensive care unit (ICU). A woman lies in her hospital bed, her skin flushed red, symbolizing agony the body’s distress under illness and medical intervention. Her hair transforms into a dense and tangled jungle — her mind is both sanctuary and a nightmare. Through this piece, I explore the delicate balance between alleviating suffering and the cognitive consequences of sedation. The question “What do I do for pain?” is not only personal but deeply ethical. Physicians are tasked with understanding the evolving landscape of pain management. Recent evidence favors multimodal pain relief strategies over excessive sedation to reduce ICU delirium and cognitive impairment. The historical reliance on benzodiazepines is waning, while non-pharmacologic interventions such as early mobility gain favour. This piece invites the viewer to step into this complex intersection of medicine, ethics, and human vulnerability—where every decision carries consequences, and relief is often inseparable from consequences.

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Rimsha Malik

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In "Shackles of White Ribbon", pain is both a constraint and a catalyst for resilience. The white ribbons—tight and restrictive—reflect the coping mechanisms and facades we adopt to contain pain, even when they confine our freedom and authenticity. Yet, within this restriction, there’s a quiet strength, as if these "shackles" keep the pieces from unraveling entirely.
The hand partially covering the face represents the instinct to shield oneself, to conceal the raw vulnerability that pain exposes. However, the piercing gaze challenges this, suggesting a confrontation with pain rather than retreat. The swirling background embodies the inner turmoil—waves of anguish and resilience intermingling—showing that pain is not a static experience but an ever-shifting force.
Through this self-portrait, pain is endured, hidden, battled, and ultimately embraced as part of oneself. The painting answers: what do I do for pain? I live with it, I confront it, and I transform it into art.

Congratulations to our 2025 Winning Artists!

Unseen Struggles, Shared Horizons

Rangana Hetti Arachchige

This piece explores how pain is lived rather than measured. Drawing from infant loss, endometriosis, and long-term mental health impacts, it examines how grief and physical illness co-exist in the same body. Pain is not linear, isolated, or resolved by time or treatment. Instead, it accumulates, shifts, and resurfaces-often invisibly. This submssion challenges the separation between emotional and physical pain, showing how reproductive loss and chronic disease create persistent, ebmodied experience. It speaks to the daily work of functioning, caregiving, surviving while carrying pain that has no clear endpoint or cure.

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“Unseen Struggles, Shared Horizons” is a visual journey through the hidden realities of chronic pain in Canada. From the relentless toll on trades workers to young adults lost in the transition between care systems, from aging bodies bearing decades of discomfort to the silent suffering of those without stable housing—pain is everywhere, yet too often ignored. Each image captures a moment of endurance, isolation, and resilience, reflecting the systemic gaps that leave many without adequate support. But pain is not just an individual experience; it is a shared reality that demands collective action. This collection invites viewers to see beyond the surface, to recognize the humanity in suffering, and to imagine a future where pain care is equitable and accessible for all. Through these images, I ask: What do we do for pain? And more importantly, what can we do together?

Patient

Cassandra Myers

This piece explores how pain is lived rather than measured. Drawing from infant loss, endometriosis, and long-term mental health impacts, it examines how grief and physical illness co-exist in the same body. Pain is not linear, isolated, or resolved by time or treatment. Instead, it accumulates, shifts, and resurfaces-often invisibly. This submssion challenges the separation between emotional and physical pain, showing how reproductive loss and chronic disease create persistent, ebmodied experience. It speaks to the daily work of functioning, caregiving, surviving while carrying pain that has no clear endpoint or cure.

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Patient is a spoken word-dance video created for the UBC H.E.A.L Project which instructed doctors how to better treat their patients with chronic pain. The video details my lived experience with chronic pain alongside my chronic pain dance.

Through Art and Sound: A Social Journey in the Experience of Pain

Laura Hernandez

This piece explores how pain is lived rather than measured. Drawing from infant loss, endometriosis, and long-term mental health impacts, it examines how grief and physical illness co-exist in the same body. Pain is not linear, isolated, or resolved by time or treatment. Instead, it accumulates, shifts, and resurfaces-often invisibly. This submssion challenges the separation between emotional and physical pain, showing how reproductive loss and chronic disease create persistent, ebmodied experience. It speaks to the daily work of functioning, caregiving, surviving while carrying pain that has no clear endpoint or cure.

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Content warning: Flashing lights.
People with chronic pain may have limited social lives, experiencing sadness, otherness, and even feeling like their pain is not believed. Pain-related disability can affect those caring for people with pain, eliciting feelings of stress. Still, high-quality relationships might positively affect individuals with pain, and pain validation could help them cope. These complex relationships between pain and social life inspired our digital mixed media sculpture.
First, images projected onto the brain figure portray sensations of pain, accompanied by emotions of hurt and isolation. The sharp sound of pain and its distortion allude to pain intensity and feeling pain itself.
Then, enriching, healthy relationships co-occur despite the pain. Taken from Erik Satie’s Gymnopédie No. 1, the music depicts a conversation between pain (the resonant violin) and one’s social network (voice) to mirror how social life intersperses the experiences of those with pain. As the song progresses, the note symbolizing pain is constantly present; however, the final chord sings the harmony that supportive, high-quality relationships may bring, as family and friends journey with individuals with chronic pain.
Conceptualization and sculpture: Laura Hernández, William Forero, Mica Marbil
Visuals: Laura Hernández, William Forero
Audio: Laura Hernández, Mica Marbil

Dans Vraie Vie / In Real Life

Justine Benoit-Piau

This piece explores how pain is lived rather than measured. Drawing from infant loss, endometriosis, and long-term mental health impacts, it examines how grief and physical illness co-exist in the same body. Pain is not linear, isolated, or resolved by time or treatment. Instead, it accumulates, shifts, and resurfaces-often invisibly. This submssion challenges the separation between emotional and physical pain, showing how reproductive loss and chronic disease create persistent, ebmodied experience. It speaks to the daily work of functioning, caregiving, surviving while carrying pain that has no clear endpoint or cure.

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After a touching meeting with a mother who lost one of her daughters to suicide, the choreographers were inspired by the images that emerged from her during this discussion. Through chaos and black holes, through a parallel life, the effect of grief on mental health is the main source of inspiration for the latter portion of this project.

In introduction to this dance, a presentation by Pr Pascal Tétreault was done on the personal experience of pain and the factors that influence it, which can be biological, psychological or social. He also explains how chronic pain can have a deleterious effect on mental health. Psychological pain, as one would experience when losing a loved one in a traumatic way, can activate similar brain parts as the ones that would be activated by physical pain. The use of dancers in this creation enabled the researcher to convey his words in movement, more efficiently, than with a simple PowerPoint presentation.

Each movement was specifically choreographed to portray the words of Pr Tétreault and the words of the mother who tragically lost her daughter.

Captured Flashes of Lived Experience in Pediatric Pain: Illuminating the Voices of Marginalized Youth

Samantha Noyek

This piece explores how pain is lived rather than measured. Drawing from infant loss, endometriosis, and long-term mental health impacts, it examines how grief and physical illness co-exist in the same body. Pain is not linear, isolated, or resolved by time or treatment. Instead, it accumulates, shifts, and resurfaces-often invisibly. This submssion challenges the separation between emotional and physical pain, showing how reproductive loss and chronic disease create persistent, ebmodied experience. It speaks to the daily work of functioning, caregiving, surviving while carrying pain that has no clear endpoint or cure.

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Pain experiences of youth with brain-based developmental disabilities are more likely to be overlooked and/or misinterpreted, especially when youth are unable to self-express their pain through speaking, writing (using paper and pencil), or typing (with a standard computer-keyboard). This video was developed through a Science Communication Course at the University of Calgary, to relay research through media. The content presents pictures and video clips that provide insight about ongoing research being led by Dr. Samantha Noyek and a team of researchers, clinicians, families, and lived experience experts. Interview clips are woven throughout to highlight pain experiences of youth and families.

The video came forth as an idea stemming from a systematic review we have conducted that maps the scope of self and observer-reported pain assessment measures of youth with brain-based developmental disabilities. Next steps of our research will provide pain assessment recommendations for this group of youth. Continued efforts will involve a World Café, bringing together diverse stakeholders to set research priorities in this area. This video was shared through social media outputs including Twitter and Facebook. The intended audience of the video includes families, researchers, and clinicians, highlighting the necessity of making this area a critical research focus

Constellations of Chronic Pain and Depression Research: A Network Visualisation

Abhimanyu Sud

This piece explores how pain is lived rather than measured. Drawing from infant loss, endometriosis, and long-term mental health impacts, it examines how grief and physical illness co-exist in the same body. Pain is not linear, isolated, or resolved by time or treatment. Instead, it accumulates, shifts, and resurfaces-often invisibly. This submssion challenges the separation between emotional and physical pain, showing how reproductive loss and chronic disease create persistent, ebmodied experience. It speaks to the daily work of functioning, caregiving, surviving while carrying pain that has no clear endpoint or cure.

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People living with chronic pain often experience depression, but understanding and treating these two conditions together can be very difficult.To get a better idea of which treatments might improve depression for people with chronic pain, systematic reviews have been conducted to compile results from multiple clinical trials.

These reviews usually focus on one type of chronic pain or a certain kind of treatment.

An umbrella review then compiles the results from multiple systematic reviews, to get the broadest possible picture. An umbrella review can tell us what kinds of treatments have been studied for the effects on depression, and for what kinds of chronic pain conditions.

This network visualization shows a constellation of 83 systematic reviews (grey dots), and the 459 clinical trials that they synthesise (blue dots when included by one systematic review; green dots when included by more than one). Looking at the network of systematic reviews and clinical trials, we identified groups based on types of treatments (labels and outlines) and kinds of chronic pain conditions (coloured clouds).

This network visualization provides a big picture view of research on depression and chronic pain, and the gaps that are worth investigating in future studies and reviews.

Still Here. Still Hurting. Pain Is Not One Thing.
Still Here. Still Hurting. Pain Is Not One Thing.
KiKi Abbott Moore
This piece explores how pain is lived rather than measured. Drawing from infant loss, endometriosis, and long-term mental health impacts, it examines how grief and physical illness co-exist in the same body. Pain is not linear, isolated, or resolved by time or treatment. Instead, it accumulates, shifts, and resurfaces-often invisibly. This submssion challenges the separation between emotional and physical pain, showing how reproductive loss and chronic disease create persistent, ebmodied experience. It speaks to the daily work of functioning, caregiving, surviving while carrying pain that has no clear endpoint or cure.

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Pastel, mixed media on parchment paper, using somatic release to express pain and grief.

This piece explores how pain is lived rather than measured. Drawing from infant loss, endometriosis, and long-term mental health impacts, it examines how grief and physical illness co-exist in the same body. Pain is not linear, isolated, or resolved by time or treatment. Instead, it accumulates, shifts, and resurfaces-often invisibly. This submssion challenges the separation between emotional and physical pain, showing how reproductive loss and chronic disease create persistent, ebmodied experience. It speaks to the daily work of functioning, caregiving, surviving while carrying pain that has no clear endpoint or cure.

Wrinkles of Time
Wrinkles of Time
Mohit Bhandari
Many live with pain--some, all of their lives. We may never know the extent of their suffering--but time tells all. The stories of millions of women around the world are told in their eyes--but even they can't hide the wrinkles of time---the tapestry of their life.

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Pencil Sketch.

Many live with pain--some, all of their lives. We may never know the extent of their suffering--but time tells all. The stories of millions of women around the world are told in their eyes--but even they can't hide the wrinkles of time---the tapestry of their life.

Through the Darkness
Through the Darkness
Natalie Boivin
This is a watercolour illustrating a person impacted by pain. It depicts the affected person (dark blue footprints) walking in the snow, deep into the forest. The dark blue of the woods represents the fear and loneliness sometimes felt by the person living with pain. The vibrant red and orange represent the burning sensation often associated with pain. The sun is the wonderful aftermath when the pain dissipates. You will notice that the person ends up walking into the woods alone, however there are other foot (& paw) prints that represent the support that accompany the affected person for parts of the journey. The painting illustrates that the journey through pain is a myriad of things…it is dark, shared, lonely, and physically taxing. But most importantly, the painting shows a glimmer of hope as there is always a way through the darkness.

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Watercolour on 300 gsm paper

This is a watercolour illustrating a person impacted by pain. It depicts the affected person (dark blue footprints) walking in the snow, deep into the forest. The dark blue of the woods represents the fear and loneliness sometimes felt by the person living with pain. The vibrant red and orange represent the burning sensation often associated with pain. The sun is the wonderful aftermath when the pain dissipates. You will notice that the person ends up walking into the woods alone, however there are other foot (& paw) prints that represent the support that accompany the affected person for parts of the journey. The painting illustrates that the journey through pain is a myriad of things…it is dark, shared, lonely, and physically taxing. But most importantly, the painting shows a glimmer of hope as there is always a way through the darkness.

Plaque & Circumstance
Plaque & Circumstance
Judy Duggan-McCormack
This piece presents a playful yet slightly dark fairytale scene inspired by old folklore. Small elven creatures perform dental work using antique carpenter’s tools . While the scene carries humor, it also hints at discomfort. The exaggerated setting reflects how our understanding of anguish is shaped by personal history and memory. Physical sensation is only part of the story; emotion, anticipation, and past experience all deepen it. By pairing whimsy with unease, the work suggests that suffering is rarely simple. Even in a fantastical world, tending to damage reveals how layered and complicated our reactions can be.

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Embroidery on aged vintage cotton

This piece presents a playful yet slightly dark fairytale scene inspired by old folklore. Small elven creatures perform dental work using antique carpenter’s tools . While the scene carries humor, it also hints at discomfort. The exaggerated setting reflects how our understanding of anguish is shaped by personal history and memory. Physical sensation is only part of the story; emotion, anticipation, and past experience all deepen it. By pairing whimsy with unease, the work suggests that suffering is rarely simple. Even in a fantastical world, tending to damage reveals how layered and complicated our reactions can be.

The Weight of Always
The Weight of Always
Jasmine Eklund
You're invited to look closely- not just at the face, but through it, to experience what it's like to live with chronic pain. It speaks to the invisible nature of pain and how much of it is felt internally, even when the outside world can't see it. It represents how people can feel different types of pain and feel them differently. But, no matter what type of pain they feel, eyes reflect what they are going through. Pain is there in someone's eyes even when there are no other physical signs.

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Charcoal drawing, with burned tracing paper

You're invited to look closely- not just at the face, but through it, to experience what it's like to live with chronic pain. It speaks to the invisible nature of pain and how much of it is felt internally, even when the outside world can't see it.
It represents how people can feel different types of pain and feel them differently. But, no matter what type of pain they feel, eyes reflect what they are going through. Pain is there in someone's eyes even when there are no other physical signs.

The Tortured Torturer
The Tortured Torturer
Niama Errafii
While I’ve struggled with persistent physical pain and a lifelong illness that I was born and still struggle with, my worst pain was from within. We often forget the severity psychological pain, and it’s consequences. I personally used to struggle with self harm. The pain of the cuts were constant but what was even more painful was the addiction and guilt. As part of my recovery, I made this painting that portrays the ruthless cycle, how lonely and painful self harm felt to me. I hope those with similar struggles will be comforted when seeing my artwork, by realizing their not alone in their struggles.

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My Medium was oil paint on canvas. I played with lightning and used the classical chiaroscuro technique.

While I’ve struggled with persistent physical pain and a lifelong illness that I was born and still struggle with, my worst pain was from within. We often forget the severity psychological pain, and it’s consequences. I personally used to struggle with self harm. The pain of the cuts were constant but what was even more painful was the addiction and guilt. As part of my recovery, I made this painting that portrays the ruthless cycle, how lonely and painful self harm felt to me. I hope those with similar struggles will be comforted when seeing my artwork, by realizing their not alone in their struggles.

My Theory of Suffering
My Theory of Suffering
Reilly Fitzgerald
This is my abstract depiction of mt suffering experience, which in itself is an abstract experience. The piece is immersed in blackness, but there are segments of colour and elements of starlight seeping through; it is these segments of my life which I must focus on in order to get any relief, distraction, and any sense of purpose in a life that otherwise could drown a person in negativity.

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Acrylic paint on stretched canvas 12” X 9” acrylic on canvas

This is my abstract depiction of mt suffering experience, which in itself is an abstract experience.
The piece is immersed in blackness, but there are segments of colour and elements of starlight seeping through; it is these segments of my life which I must focus on in order to get any relief, distraction, and any sense of purpose in a life that otherwise could drown a person in negativity.

Immersed
Immersed
Lisa Kimberly Glickman
I try to escape the pain through sleep. Sometimes I feel as though I am underwater..………sleep illudes me

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Acrylic and mixed media on canvas

I try to escape the pain through sleep. Sometimes I feel as though I am underwater..………sleep illudes me

My Mother's Son
My Mother's Son
Nadine Hallgrimson
My brother endured pain for over a year; the bones in his foot breaking down due to diabetes and a severe infection. Following amputation, he is now pain-free. Watching him wheel into Rehab, my heart went heavy; it’s just the two of us now. But somehow, I could feel our mom’s love and warmth pushing us forward through an open door, towards the unknown of what lies ahead for his recovery and future. The number XXIX symbolizes our family past and present and brings us true strength and comfort. Pain has four letters, but so does love.

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Mixed media, acrylic and ink

My brother endured pain for over a year; the bones in his foot breaking down due to diabetes and a severe infection. Following amputation, he is now pain-free. Watching him wheel into Rehab, my heart went heavy; it’s just the two of us now. But somehow, I could feel our mom’s love and warmth pushing us forward through an open door, towards the unknown of what lies ahead for his recovery and future. The number XXIX symbolizes our family past and present and brings us true strength and comfort. Pain has four letters, but so does love.

It's All In Your Head (Paralysis)
It's All In Your Head (Paralysis)
Larissa Hauck
This self-portrait highlights my personal battles with mental illness and the paralyzing anxiety I have fought within myself for longer than I can remember. It was created around a pivotal moment in my healing and represents how anxiety blinds us to reality.

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Acrylic painting on canvas

This self-portrait highlights my personal battles with mental illness and the paralyzing anxiety I have fought within myself for longer than I can remember. It was created around a pivotal moment in my healing and represents how anxiety blinds us to reality.

Too Little Too Late
Too Little Too Late
Christopher Jackson
Men's mental health is an example of silent pain and suffering often resulting in suicide. Its a hidden pain most men suffer from and do not know there is help.

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Felt, hand drawn. My medium is pen and ink. I order to make this piece hit with maximum impact I took a bold and strong approach.

Men's mental health is an example of silent pain and suffering often resulting in suicide. Its a hidden pain most men suffer from and do not know there is help.

Walking Into The Unknown
Walking Into The Unknown
Samantha Kelly
I feel as though I am in a state of limbo. Of stuckness. The pain is all consuming. It is layered. It creeps. I feel distorted. Numb. Staying here, being consumed by the pain, is not an option. But the path forward is terrifying. It is an abyss of confusion, helplessness, anger, and fear. So much fear. I am afraid to move forward. I take one last look at where I have come from. All the effort and disappointment that has led me here. I don’t want to do this alone. It’s time to get unstuck.

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This piece was created with watercolour and crayon on white heavyweight cold-pressed watercolour paper.

I feel as though I am in a state of limbo. Of stuckness. The pain is all consuming. It is layered. It creeps. I feel distorted. Numb. Staying here, being consumed by the pain, is not an option. But the path forward is terrifying. It is an abyss of confusion, helplessness, anger, and fear. So much fear. I am afraid to move forward. I take one last look at where I have come from. All the effort and disappointment that has led me here. I don’t want to do this alone. It’s time to get unstuck.

A Body In Translation
A Body In Translation
Avery Lee
This piece explores chronic pain as a personal divide between the body and self. The girl’s unraveling reflects how ongoing pain can quietly reshape a person from the inside, isolating them in ways others may never see. Within that breaking is also a sense of movement and adaptation, mirroring the daily effort to live alongside discomfort. I wanted this work to speak to the human act of learning to carry pain, and to the quiet courage of those who embrace it, and endure it in silence.

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Digital art using Procreate.

This piece explores chronic pain as a personal divide between the body and self. The girl’s unraveling reflects how ongoing pain can quietly reshape a person from the inside, isolating them in ways others may never see. Within that breaking is also a sense of movement and adaptation, mirroring the daily effort to live alongside discomfort. I wanted this work to speak to the human act of learning to carry pain, and to the quiet courage of those who embrace it, and endure it in silence.

How Do I Feel Pain? It's Complicated.
How Do I Feel Pain? It's Complicated.
Meg Neufeld
I created this ceramic vessel after my twentieth surgery. When nerve weakness in my hand caused it to slip and break, I was devastated. What once symbolized perseverance echoed fragility. Repaired with gold, the vessel blooms into something new. Complementary paint colours mixed with sand reflect the discomfort and tolerance of chronic pain. Knotted strands of yarn show how opposite emotions coexist throughout the pain journey: we meet limits and exceed them while building resilience; we feel alone and find belonging by sharing stories; we grieve our former life and move forward courageously. How do I feel pain? It’s complicated.

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Ceramic fragments integrated with acrylic paint, sand, yarn and gold leaf on wood panel.

I created this ceramic vessel after my twentieth surgery. When nerve weakness in my hand caused it to slip and break, I was devastated. What once symbolized perseverance echoed fragility. Repaired with gold, the vessel blooms into something new. Complementary paint colours mixed with sand reflect the discomfort and tolerance of chronic pain. Knotted strands of yarn show how opposite emotions coexist throughout the pain journey: we meet limits and exceed them while building resilience; we feel alone and find belonging by sharing stories; we grieve our former life and move forward courageously. How do I feel pain? It’s complicated.

Detachment: Dissociation
Detachment: Dissociation
Gwyneth Raene Ramas
The brain is a fascinating thing. Unwanted sensations can be detached from our body as we all go through this phase of dissociation. It can be both a blessing and a curse.

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Traditional art with colored pencils

The brain is a fascinating thing. Unwanted sensations can be detached from our body as we all go through this phase of dissociation. It can be both a blessing and a curse.

Carrying Pain, What Remains
Carrying Pain, What Remains
Justin Sacksner
Carrying Pain, What Remains reflects on witnessing my aunt’s life change profoundly through chronic pain. Through poetry and image, the work traces how pain alters time, roles, memory, and the body, not only for the person in pain, but also for those who love them. Set within both clinical and domestic spaces, it captures the quiet endurance, losses, and adaptations that follow, while honoring what persists beyond suffering: care, identity, and presence. The piece challenges pain as a singular symptom, presenting it instead as a lived, relational experience that reshapes life.

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Poetry, photography, mixed-media storytelling, narrative medicine, lived-experience reflection

Carrying Pain, What Remains reflects on witnessing my aunt’s life change profoundly through chronic pain. Through poetry and image, the work traces how pain alters time, roles, memory, and the body, not only for the person in pain, but also for those who love them. Set within both clinical and domestic spaces, it captures the quiet endurance, losses, and adaptations that follow, while honoring what persists beyond suffering: care, identity, and presence. The piece challenges pain as a singular symptom, presenting it instead as a lived, relational experience that reshapes life.

What Grows Through Pain
What Grows Through Pain
Juiena Sagir
This drawing presents pain as a journey rather than a single moment. Pain begins at the roots, symbolizing deep sources of suffering. Along this path, medications within the roots reflect treatment at different stages, while the nearby surgical instrument represents deeper intervention when needed. Water falling from above symbolizes mercy and relief during hardship. Despite ongoing pain, the flower continues to grow, drawing strength from the struggle itself. In the end, it reaches the light and blooms, showing that through endurance, care, and mercy, pain can give rise to strength and growth.

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The artwork was initially drawn in pencil, reproduced using a printer, and finalized with colored pencils.

This drawing presents pain as a journey rather than a single moment. Pain begins at the roots, symbolizing deep sources of suffering. Along this path, medications within the roots reflect treatment at different stages, while the nearby surgical instrument represents deeper intervention when needed. Water falling from above symbolizes mercy and relief during hardship. Despite ongoing pain, the flower continues to grow, drawing strength from the struggle itself. In the end, it reaches the light and blooms, showing that through endurance, care, and mercy, pain can give rise to strength and growth.

Never Absent Except During Sleep
Never Absent Except During Sleep
Tim Salomons
The piece explores how pain is felt and experienced, using sun imagery to convey the relentless, burning quality of post-amputation pain—described as “never absent except during sleep.” This embodied, inescapable sensation is set against water imagery, which represents opioid analgesia (visualized using OxyContin tablets). Here, relief is felt as submersion or cooling: pain may recede, but at risk of drifting toward deeper states of numbness, where the boundary between rest, unconsciousness, and permanent sleep becomes dangerously thin.

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Collage, employing National Geographic clippings and an old scientific poster.

The piece explores how pain is felt and experienced, using sun imagery to convey the relentless, burning quality of post-amputation pain—described as “never absent except during sleep.” This embodied, inescapable sensation is set against water imagery, which represents opioid analgesia (visualized using OxyContin tablets). Here, relief is felt as submersion or cooling: pain may recede, but at risk of drifting toward deeper states of numbness, where the boundary between rest, unconsciousness, and permanent sleep becomes dangerously thin.

Transcendence
Transcendence
Reynold Thomas
This image reflects pain as an internal, shifting experience—felt deeply, yet difficult to articulate. The blurred motion suggests the way pain disrupts clarity, distorts time, and unsettles one’s sense of self. The hand moving across the face evokes both protection and overwhelm, a gesture of coping when words fall short. Pain here is not fixed or visible in a single moment; it trembles, lingers, and resurfaces unpredictably. The obscured features speak to isolation and misrecognition, how pain is often unseen or misunderstood by others. Together, the softness and tension embody the vulnerability, resilience, and quiet endurance that define how we feel pain.

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Photograph

This image reflects pain as an internal, shifting experience—felt deeply, yet difficult to articulate. The blurred motion suggests the way pain disrupts clarity, distorts time, and unsettles one’s sense of self. The hand moving across the face evokes both protection and overwhelm, a gesture of coping when words fall short. Pain here is not fixed or visible in a single moment; it trembles, lingers, and resurfaces unpredictably. The obscured features speak to isolation and misrecognition, how pain is often unseen or misunderstood by others. Together, the softness and tension embody the vulnerability, resilience, and quiet endurance that define how we feel pain.

Circuit Overload
Circuit Overload
Sandra Woods
How We Feel Pain is through the brain! In chronic pain, pain signals often continue long after a pain-triggering event has ended; with malfunctions in receiving, interpreting, or responding to pain signals. The chronic pain brain is like a home's electrical panel in 'Circuit Overload' - flickering lights, frequently tripped circuit breakers, overheating outlets, burning smells, buzzing sounds, and more. Imagine the brain as an electrical panel overwhelmed by pain; neurotransmitters' signals flicker, dim, overheat, or trip like circuit breakers, leaving the person feeling that different functions of their brain have been disconnected like puzzle pieces pulled apart.

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Watercolour painting on cotton-paper, using gemstone/mineral pigments; Garnet, Rhodonite, and Cobalt Turquoise for contrast.

How We Feel Pain is through the brain!
In chronic pain, pain signals often continue long after a pain-triggering event has ended; with malfunctions in receiving, interpreting, or responding to pain signals.
The chronic pain brain is like a home's electrical panel in 'Circuit Overload' - flickering lights, frequently tripped circuit breakers, overheating outlets, burning smells, buzzing sounds, and more.
Imagine the brain as an electrical panel overwhelmed by pain; neurotransmitters' signals flicker, dim, overheat, or trip like circuit breakers, leaving the person feeling that different functions of their brain have been disconnected like puzzle pieces pulled apart.

Submission Categories

You can submit your art to one of three categories; Scientific visualizations (e.g. MRI, microscopy), Classical art forms (e.g. drawing, short poem/story), or Photography, video, and music.

Prizes

The top 20 entries from all categories combined, as determined by our Art Awards Jury, will be showcased in printed format during our Annual Scientific Meeting in Québec. Explore previous submissions!

Voting

Voting for this year's winners is up to our Canadian Pain Society members!  Voting is open from April 1st to May 1st.  Not a member yet?

Share your Masterpiece

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Upload requirements

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When photographing art:

  1. Clear Photo Composition: Make sure your area is free of obstructions.

  2. Optimal Lighting: The photo is well-lit and free of shadows.

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Digital 

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Video​

  1. If applicable, please include any trigger warnings for flashing lights, startling sound effects, etc.

  2. Please designate and upload a thumbnail for use to display your work on layouts that do not allow for video.

Sorry, but submissions to the 2026 Art Awaeds have now closed :(

NOTE  This does not impact your submission; we simply aim to gain a better understanding of the diversity of our submissions.

What category are you submitting to?
Scientific
Classical Art Forms
Photographic and Video Captures
For all video and poetry submissions, please also upload a thumbnail image.
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